Personnel from the Middletown Department of Emergency Management and Community Emergency Response Team have been requested by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security to assist the Town of Groton with Storm Sandy relief efforts.
Middletown’s crews were requested by Groton Emergency Management officials, according to town officials.
“With the anticipation of extending our operations at our multi-jurisdictional shelter throughout the weekend, we have exhausted our volunteers. Bottom line, they need a break to re-energize and to take care of their own home situations as they have been going non-stop since setting up our first shelter before the storm," Groton officials said.
"We are specifically requesting Middletown ... as we have trained together in the past and our EM personnel have worked closely with theirs over the past year or two.”
Joseph Sastre, Groton’s director of emergency management, said it could take a long time for some homeowners to recover from Hurricane Sandy, depending on the damage that was done, according to an article in Groton Patch.
“Some people’s houses are screwed up because the water got in, their walls are soaked, their insulation is soaked ... if they have furnaces in the basement, their furnaces are shot.”
“I’m sure there are houses out there with structural issues along the shoreline. It really comes down to what your issue is. ... Water can do a number on a house. It can make a house uninhabitable forever or without extensive repairs,” Sastre told Patch.
Middletown's Emergency Management Director Bruce Driska indicated that the deployment team will leave the city at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday and will be in Groton for several days providing logistical support and shelter management.